Draft Human Tissue (Permitted Material: Exceptions) (England) Regulations 2020

Lord Naseby Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Naseby (Con)]

Good afternoon, my Lords. I am sorry that I am only on audio today; I have had some technical problems.

I want to focus on communication; I have spent a lifetime in that world. The starting point seems to be the statement from the Department of Health and Social Care on 25 February that, although 80% of people would be happy to donate organs and tissues on death, only 37% are currently registered. As the Minister said, demand has increased since the original briefing: the figure then was 5,100; it is now 5,200. I understand that deemed consent is likely to produce an additional 700 a year. That means that, if demand remains constant, it will take at least another seven years to work off.

On 25 April 2019, NHS Blood and Transplant launched a campaign called “Pass it on”, which aimed to communicate the change in the law and the choices available. Was any audit made of people who had ever heard of this campaign or were able to communicate back what it was about?

In the commercial world, it is normal with something as important as this for a whole structure of market research to be set up following some initial trials. My first question is on that. However, instead of just asking questions, I want to put forward a few thoughts on how we could communicate better. I went to my local surgery this morning to renew a prescription. I walked round; I could not see anything obvious about donations. A large number of people as NHS patients go to clinics. I am not conscious of anything in the publicity at the few that I have been to about what we are talking about.

I am waiting for an appointment for glaucoma at Bedford Hospital. I did not see anything last time I went in; I will check again. Each of us has to renew our driving licence after a period of time. Why do we not have a campaign attached to that renewal about the need for donations? We all of us have dental appointments. Would it not be a good idea if a leaflet or something was available when we went to the dentist? Above all, there are all the specialist medical charities—my goodness, they do a really good job. They are brilliant communicators. I first took out my donor card in 1981 because I had a particular interest in kidneys at the time. I have it in front of me. I was hoping to show it, but it is looking a bit moth-eaten as I flick it over now. Perhaps we could get all those medical charities on board. They would need financial assistance to do it, but they are like terriers and we need people like that to communicate this very important category of future life.

Then there are people coming to our country—the naturalisation permissions, the immigration approvals and, for UK people, passport renewals. There again is an opportunity to communicate.

Finally, there have recently been some really good, in-depth TV programmes on the challenge of the virus. Let us ask each of the channels to do a separate programme on this issue, so that we can get the 37% up to way over 50%, thereby giving us at least a chance of meeting the demand that is out there. It needs to be addressed. I wish everybody well in that. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, who rightly calls for —[Inaudible.]